Star Wars is in a bit of a rut right now. While there has been quite a fair bit of content coming out in streaming and comics, there has not been a Star Wars feature film in the cinemas since 2019, when The Rise Of Skywalker failed to, well, rise to the occasion and save the franchise.
The Mandalorian And Grogu represents a big but tentative step towards bringing the franchise back to where it belongs, giving the main characters of Disney+ series The Mandalorian – the bounty hunter Din Djarin (Pedro Pascal) and his adorable, frog-eating apprentice/adopted son, Grogu, aka 'Baby Yoda' – their big screen debut.
While entrusting your billion-dollar film franchise to an unlikely father and son pair from a TV show ahead of your big 50 year anniversary in 2027 may not seem like a great idea, it works, somehow. Well, almost.
It probably won't silence the naysayers or rapid fanboys, but The Mandalorian And Grogu is at least an entertaining return to the big-screen for Star Wars that doesn't pretend to be anything other than a fun, family-friendly action blockbuster.
In case you were not familiar with the Mandalorian or Grogu, here's a quick recap. A long time ago, in a galaxy far... oh, you know that part already.
Anyway, Din Djarin (aka 'Mando') is a Mandalorian bounty hunter who came across Grogu (a child from the same species as Yoda, and can use the Force), and throughout the course of three seasons of The Mandalorian, eventually became his father figure and mentor.
Set after the fall of the Galactic Empire (thanks to Luke Skywalker and his pals), the movie continues on from the last season of the series in 2023, where Grogu is now officialy Mando's apprentice, and is actively following him on his missions to hunt down ex-Imperial war criminals for the New Republic.
His latest assignment sends him on a rescue mission to bring back Rotta the Hutt (Jeremy Allen White) in exchange for information from the Hutt clan on a New Republic target.
Wait a minute. the Hutts? Yes, you heard right.
Those oversized slugs we first met in Return of The Jedi are back. If all you know about the Hutts was Jabba getting strangled by a bikini-clad Leia, then you’re in for a surprise, as his son Rotta makes his debut as a muscular gladiator here, and actually makes us care about a Hutt for once.
It has been a while since we’ve had a Star Wars film, and this delivers everything we want from one.
There’s lots of action – from gunfights, starship battles, and one-on-one duels (no lightsabres though) – and the best part is, you don’t need to know what came before to enjoy this.
As expected, the marketing for this movie leaned heavily into the cuteness of Grogu, and to some extent, it is a good idea. After all, look at those cute little eyes – he is such a cutie pie, isn't he?
But really, if even ‘Baby Yoda’ can’t pull you in, no Force on Dagobah would be able to do so.
On the flipside, while there really is no such thing as TOO MUCH Grogu cuteness, there are times when director Jon Favreau just leans a little too much into it, which diverts attention from the more serious stuff.
Another minor quibble, is that for those who watched the TV series, this feels a little too much like an extended episode of the show.
It’s not necessarily a bad thing, as it’s a lot of fun to watch Mando in action on the big screen, but you do wish they had spent a little less time on throwing in random monsters for Mando to fight, and more time on actually moving the story and universe in general a little further forward.
This is especially since the film helps deepen the father-son relationship of the two main stars further, so hopefully we'll get to see more of a partnership forming between them in the future.
Oh, and one of the most iconic actors in sci-fi films, Sigourney Weaver, is in this, but she doesn’t quite get enough screentime for our liking (though it's great to see Ripley flying an X-Wing!).
Those minor quibbles aside, this really is a small step forward for the Star Wars franchise. It’s fun, it’s entertaining, full of action, and crucially, you can watch it without knowing anything about Mandalorian customs or any Star Wars lore.
If Lucasfilm is serious about bringing the film franchise back to life, well, maybe this IS the way.
The Mandalorian And Grogu is now playing in cinemas nationwide.
